Motor Maids Convention Coming to Springfield in July

SPRINGFIELD — Motor Maids Inc. will host its annual convention in Springfield on July 11-13.

The Motor Maids were formed in 1940 when founders Linda Dugeau and Dot Robinson composed a list of 51 female motorcyclists who would become the charter members of an all-female club. In 1941, the American Motorcycle Assoc. issued the Motor Maids a charter. Membership has grown to a diverse group of 1,300 members across Canada and the U.S. The common threads that bind them are a passion for riding, promoting safe riding habits, and presenting the world with a positive image of women on motorcycles.

Highlights of the convention include a Red Ribbon event, at which the club recognizes first-time conventioneers; the signature Dot Robinson Road Run, a timed road race with secret checkpoints; a parade in full uniform; and a closing banquet on Thursday, July 13.

The Motor Maids will start arriving on July 8. A requirement for prospective members is that they or an immediate family member own a motorcycle and that they actively ride. Motor Maids club members will come from all over the U.S. and Canada. Each lady must ride her motorcycle from her home to the convention and back home. Members range in age from 18 to 92. Mothers will bring daughters and daughters-in-law who are also members, and the club’s history holds more than one precedent for three generations of a family holding membership.

The parade will take place on Tuesday, July 11 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. It will start at Springfield Technical Community College Student Lot #1 at the corner of Pearl and Federal streets. It will proceed left on Federal Street out of the parking lot, going through the city and into Chicopee briefly, then back into Springfield. The route will wind through Forest Park and come out on Longhill Street. From there, it turns left on Main Street, right on East Columbus Avenue, right on State Street, and left on Federal Street, back to STCC Student Lot #1.